Mother's Intuition
by Broadwaylover4life
Summary: When your daughter's best friend finally comes out, it's bound to throw a wrench in to the plans. But it will get better. Why? Let's call it mother's intuition. My take on how Ashley,Ella and Veronica acted when they found out about Emily.
1. Veronica

A/N: Hey guys. So, I'm sure you're all waiting for updates on my glee stories, but I've had this idea for a while and I wanted to give it a go. This chapter is Spencer's mom's reaction. As a side note, I DO NOT OWN PRETTY LITTLE LIARS OR CATCHER IN THE RYE. All rights belong to their respectful owners. Enjoy, and please review!

Veronica Hastings was tired, and that may just be the understatement of the decade. She had pulled an all nighter trying to finishing prepping for a murder trial, which had started today. And to tell the truth? Her client was guilty as hell. Veronica knew that he killed his wife. She had to defend him though. That had to be the worst part of the job. Defending someone who shouldn't have the right to be defended.

When she walked in to the house, she was met with an unexpected quietness. She knew her husband wouldn't be home until late tomorrow evening, as he was away, meeting with a client. That left Spencer and Melissa. Shouldn't they be arguing by now? They had been together for almost the whole day, and lately they hadn't lasted more than an hour being in the same room as each that Veronica didn't enjoy the quietness. In fact, she quite enjoyed it. But that didn't make it any less weird.

"Melissa? Spencer?" Veronica yelled, setting her purse on the counter, placing her shoes in the closet. No answer. That was weird. "Melissa? Are you here?" she called again, pulling out a bottle of wine and pouring herself a small glass. Veronica's call was met with the sound of a book falling to the floor in the front room. Walking into the front room, she found one of Spencer's copies of 'Catcher In The Rye' lying on the floor. Sighing, she picked it up and shook her head.

"Spencer? You here hon?" Veronica called, standing on the bottom step. There was no answer. Now she was getting worried. The girls would have called her if they were going out, and both of their cars were still parked up by the garage. Slowly, the woman walked up the stairs, wine in one hand, book in the other. She went to Melissa's room first. She pushed open the door and frowned.

Melissa had fallen asleep with her face under the pillow, a pile of Kleenex around her showing that she had been crying. Plus, she was in sweat pants. She never wore sweat pants. In fact, the last time Veronica could remember Melissa wearing sweatpants was back in the ninth grade, when her first boyfriend Cody had broken up with her.

Shaking her head, Veronica slowly shut the door, careful not to make any sound. Well that explained why Melissa had not answered her, but what about Spencer? Veronica walked down the hall to her younger daughter's room. Not bothering to knock, she pushed open the door and was met by a strange sight.

Spencer was sprawled out on the floor, laptop in front of her, headphones in. A series of videos were playing. Books and papers were spread out around her. When the girl saw her mother in the door way, she quickly pulled the headphones out of her ears and started to try and hide the books and papers. At first, Veronica thought that her daughter was just doing homework, but when Spencer started to hide the papers, she knew something was up.

"Hey Mom. You're home late." Spencer said with a half smile. Veronica nodded, taking a sip of her wine and setting it on Spencer's night stand.

"Yeah…the case took longer than I thought." She paused. "You left this downstairs. I thought you might need it." Veronica told her daughter, referencing the book in her hand. Spencer nodded.

"Thanks. I forgot about that. I was reading it when I got home from the hospital." She explained, taking the book from her mother and placing it on the book shelf in the corner.

"That's right, I forgot you went to visit Hanna. How is she doing?" Veronica asked her daughter, sitting on the bed. Spencer pushed the pile of books under the bed with her foot and sat down on the window seat.

"She's alright. She's getting pretty restless. She wants to go home." Spencer answered. Her mother nodded.

"I guess. How are the other girls?" Veronica asked. Spencer's face visibly fell.

"They're…they're alright." She said quietly. Veronica frowned.

" It doesn't sound like they're alright. What's wrong Spence? What's going on? What are you trying to hide?" she asked her daughter. Spencer immediately fell in to defence mode.

"Nothing's going on. We're all okay." Spencer reassured her mother.

"Then what did you push under the bed? What don't you want me to see?" Veronica asked, looking at the girl on the window seat. Spencer shook her head.

"Nothing. I'm not hiding anything." She told her. Veronica frowned.

"Spencer, I know you're trying to hide something from me. So either you show me what you pushed under the bed or I will get it out myself." She threatened. Sighing, Spencer slowly got up and pulled the papers and books out from under her bed. She set them on the bed and then returned to her spot on the window seat.

Veronica's eyes filled with confusion when she saw what her daughter was looking at. The papers were all brochures from PFLAG and GLAAD. The books were all about the LGBT community. Veronica picked up one of the pink brochures and looked at her daughter. Spencer looked out the window.

"Care to explain what these are?" Veronica asked, very confused. Recently, she had been breaking up fights left and right between her daughters about boys. This just didn't make any sense. Spencer liked boys. Didn't she?

"They're brochures. And the LGBT community." Spencer told her mother, still looking out the window. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I can see that Spencer. My question is why do YOU have them?" Veronica asked. Spencer looked at the older woman on the bed.

"Those aren't for me. I'm…I don't…I'm not…I'm not gay. I like guys." She stuttered. A part of Veronica sighed on the inside.

"Okay, well if they're not for you, who are they for?" she asked her daughter.

"Just a friend." Spencer replied quickly, getting up off the seat and picking up her laptop. She shut it off.

"And this friend is…" Veronica continued. Spencer shook her head.

"No one." She muttered. Her mother sighed.

"Spencer, I'm not stupid. Who are they for?" Veronica asked again. Spencer looked at her feet.

"Like I said. No one." she said once again. Veronica stood up.

"Well then maybe I`ll just have to call and ask her who it is." Veronica said. Spencer`s head shot up.

"No! You can`t ask Pam!" She exclaimed. Veronica starred at her daughter for a moment, wondering why on earth she couldn`t call Pam. Then, it clicked. Everything made sense.

"It's Emily, isn't it? That's who you're doing this for." Veronica whispered. Spencer looked at her mother.

"How did you know?" She asked in awe. Veronica laughed.

"Please. You're the one who practically bit my head off for saying I was going to call Pam." She told her daughter. Spencer frowned.

"Please don't tell her I told you. She just told her parents, and now," Spencer trailed off. Veronica suddenly took a deep interest.

"She told them? What did they say?" she asked her daughter. Spencer's eyes grew glassy.

"Well, her mother went totally ballistic. Saying how Emily is disgusting, and that she's not this person. Someone else is making her this way. Her father tried to calm her mother down, but it's not exactly working. It's pretty much like talking to a wall." Spencer explained. Veronica sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But, in all respect, I can see why Pam is acting like this." She told her daughter. Spencer's head shot towards her mother and couldn't believe she was hearing these words come out of her mouth.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Spencer exclaimed, now ready to attack. Veronica held her hands up in surrender.

"I'm just saying that I can see why Pam doesn't understand right now. As a parent, you create this perfect future for your child, and when it doesn't go like you thought it would, well, Pam happens." She explained. Spencer sighed, letting go of some of the anger.

"Well, I've read all those books and pamphlets, and even before them I couldn't imagine not loving my own daughter just because she likes girls. Now it's even harder. Pam makes it sound like Emily's got a disease. But she doesn't." Spencer told her mother. Veronica sat back down on the bed next to Spencer.

"I see your point Spence, I do. But it's easier for you to say that than it is for Pam. You don't have kids. You haven't created that future." Veronica tried to explain. Spencer stood up and backed away from her mother.

"Would you do that?" she asked her mother.

"Do what?" Veronica asked. Spencer crossed her arms.

"What Pam is doing to Emily! What if the roles were reversed, and I was the one who kissed Maya at Noel Kahn's party. Would you treat me like I had a disease? Like I was broken? Like I was a disgusting excuse for a human being? Would you?" Spencer exclaimed, now on the verge of tears. Veronica sighed. So much for her quiet and peaceful night.

"Of course I wouldn't, Spence. Would I be shocked? Of course, but you're my daughter and I love you know matter what. Unless you murder someone. Then we'll have to talk." Veronica told her daughter. Spencer sighed, sitting down against the door and resting her head in her hands.

"Then why is Pam treating Emily like that?" she whispered. Veronica got up off the bed and slid down against the door next to Spencer.

"I don't know honey. I'm sorry that you're so upset...but why does it bother you so much?" Veronica asked the frazzled girl next to her. Spencer looked away.

"Because Emily didn't even want to tell us. She had to." She whispered. Veronica raised her eyebrows.

"Spencer, I'm sure she didn't have to tell you. She-" Spencer cut her off.

"Yes she did. That jackass detective made her." She said, realizing what she said all too late. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Veronica turned to face her daughter.

"When did THAT happen?" she asked her daughter, jumping back into lawyer mode without meaning to.

"That day you found us in the library. He had a letter that Em wrote to Ali, telling her that she loved her. That's why she was crying. Not because he accused her of killing Alison. She had no choice. He basically dragged her out of the closet and threw her at our faces." Spencer explained. Veronica jumped up.

"Spencer! Emily could sue that guy, and have him removed off the force! He can't do that to her. Let alone question her without an adult present." She exclaimed. Spencer shot up.

"No, please. She doesn't want that. Emily would kill me if she finds out that you know too." She pleaded. Veronica sighed.

"I won't say anything Spencer. I promise." She told her heartbroken daughter. The tears didn't leave Spencer's eyes, and so Veronica did the only thing she could think to do; she pulled her in to a hug. By now, Spencer had let the tears fall from her eyes. That scared her mother. She had never seen her daughter this upset over something that happened to someone else.

Slowly, Spencer let go of her mother and wiped away her tears.

"Okay, well I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed. Aria and I are going out to breakfast tomorrow morning with Em." Spencer told her mother, pulling out a pair of pyjamas from her drawer. Veronica nodded and started towards the door.

"Goodnight honey." She told her daughter. Spencer smiled.

"Night mom." She said back. As Veronica walked out the door, Spencer ran after her.

"Hey mom?" she called down the hallway, not caring if she woke Melissa or not. Veronica turned around as she reached her bedroom door.

"Yeah Spence?" she asked.

"Thanks for that." Spencer told her simply. Veronica smiled.

"You're welcome honey. Emily is lucky to have you." She said, and with one last smile, disappeared into her bedroom.

A/N: So that was longer than I thought! Next up is Ashley! Please review!


	2. Ashley

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. So, here's Ashley's chapter. I know some of you were saying how Veronica was too nice to Spencer, but I personally believe that if Spencer got that upset, she would care about her. She will be meaner in future chapters. So anyways, enjoy, and don't forget to review! And as a side note, I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. If I did, Emily would be dating Spencer, and Ella would be in every episode.

The next morning, Ashley Marin sat with her back to the door, watching her daughter sleep. She looked so peaceful when she slept. It was a nice change too, from Hanna's constant 'put on a brave face and act like it doesn't hurt' act, even though Hanna knew her mother could see right through it. Just the sight of Hanna's leg in that big plaster cast made Ashley fill up with a burning hatred for whatever bastard did this to her daughter. What kind of sick bastard would hit such an innocent girl with their car, and then just drive away? Okay, well maybe the word innocent wasn't the right one, but it still didn't give an excuse. She swore to god that when they found the person who did it, she was going to kill that asshole with her bare hands.

"Mom?" Hanna whispered, snapping Ashley out of her rant.

"Yes Hanna?" she asked her daughter, taking hold of the girl's hand.

"Can you go get me some breakfast? I don't think I'm going to be able to eat anymore hospital food without throwing up." Hanna asked. Ashley nodded with a chuckle, standing up and grabbing her purse.

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes, alright? Call me if you need anything." She told her daughter. Hanna nodded, sitting up in bed.

"Aria, Emily and Spencer should be here soon. Don't worry about me." Hanna told the older woman as she walked out of the room.

Ashley walked down the hospital hall towards the parking lot, passing by doctors huddled in a corner, talking about a patient with heart issues. She shook her head, happy that Hanna only had a broken leg, and not other, much worse problems. As she got into her car, she saw Aria, Spencer and Emily pulling into the lot, smiles on their faces.

She drove down the road in a peaceful silence, happy that Hanna was going to be okay and that she had such good friends who cared so much about her. When she pulled into the parking lot of the local cafe, Ashley caught a glimpse of a familiar face inside. Getting out of the car and walking inside, Ashley noticed Emily`s mother, Pam, sitting at one of tables in the back, by herself. She had a far off look on her face, and Ashley wasn`t sure if it was right to go over and say hello, or just leave Pam to her thoughts.

She decided on getting in the long line, which included about half of Rosewood. Once she placed her and Hanna`s order, Ashley decided to go and talk to Pam. She hadn`t seen her in a long time, and hadn`t talked to her in even longer.

"Pam?" Ashley said quietly as she walked up to the woman's table, resting a hand on her arm. Pam jumped, clearly surprised by Ashley's appearance.

"Ashley. Hi. How, how are you? How's Hanna? Emily told me about the accident." Pam stuttered, looking at the red haired woman.

"I'm good, I'm good. And Hanna's alright. Her, her leg's getting better. She should be out in a few days. How are you and Emily doing?" Ashley asked the tired looking woman. Pam sighed, looking at her coffee cup. She didn't answer the woman standing next to her. "Are you alright Pam? What's going on?" Ashley asked, now concerned. She sat down in the seat across from her daughter's best friend's mother.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. Well, not really." Pam told the woman, looking at her hands. Ashley was now thoroughly intrigued.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Pam sighed.

"Oh, it's Emily. Someone is trying to turn her into something she's not." She told Ashley. Ashley raised an eyebrow. Sweet Emily being turned into something she's not? That didn't sound like her. That didn't sound like any of the girls. The four of them knew what they wanted, and ever since Ali had died, well, she hated to admit it, but they had become more of themselves.

"What do you mean by that?" Ashley asked Pam, resting her hand on the woman's arm. Pam sighed again.

"I got these pictures in the mail the other day. She claims that that's her. But it's not. This is someone trying to turn her into some other disgusting form of herself." Pam told Ashley. Ashley took her hand off of Pam as the words came from her mouth. What the hell was Pam talking about? Emily, disgusting?

"What do you mean? How is she, disgusting?" Ashley whispered the last word.

"The photos, they were of—" Pam was cut off.

"Number 32?" the barista shouted. Ashley stood up.

"That's me. I've got to get back to Hanna. I'll talk to you later, alright Pam?" Ashley told the woman as she got up and walked over to the counter.

The whole drive back to the hospital, Ashley couldn't stop thinking about what Pam had said. How could she call her own daughter disgusting? What had Emily done to deserve that? No one deserved to be called disgusting by their own mother. Unless they were a murderer. And even then.

As Ashley walked towards Hanna's hospital room, coffee and breakfast sandwiches in hand, she could hear the girls' raised voices. It sounded like Emily was mad about something. 'Probably her mother calling her disgusting' Ashley thought, shaking her head with a sigh. Walking into the doorway quietly, she set the food down on the table by the door and walked back out again. The girls hadn't seen or heard her come in, and she didn't want to interrupt their conversation.

Out in the hallway, she leaned against the white door frame, waiting for the conversation to be finished. Ashley wasn't trying to eavesdrop, honestly. It just sort of, happened.

"Spencer, that's not going to fix anything. She's still going to hate my guts for it." Emily said, exasperated. Spencer let out an audible sigh.

"Em, it might help. You never know. Her opinion might change. Sometimes people do." Aria tried to reason with her. At this, Ashley smiled. Aria always was the one who was the most sympathetic. It may seem to others like it was Emily, but Ashley found that Emily was more of a 'go with the flow' person, more willing to cave in to people so they would like her. Whereas Aria, well, she was usually the voice of sympathy in the group. The most emotional.

"No, it won't. Nothing is going to change her view. She thinks I'm a sick person, and that Maya is turning me into this." Emily argued. Now it was Aria who sighed, the sound of her leaning back in the chair echoing throughout the quite hall.

"I don't know Em. I read all those books, and they seem like they might help her understand." Spencer whispered. Now Ashley was confused. Understand what?

"Like I could get her to read any of them." Emily muttered. Someone stood up from their seat and walked across the room towards Emily.

"It's going to be okay Em. You'll see." Aria whispered. Emily sniffed.

"How do you know? What makes you think that by reading a stupid book my mother is going to automatically accept me for who I am? She thinks I'm a sick, disgusting person. I've heard her talking to my dad. My mother refuses to accept that this is me, that I'm still the same person I was four days ago. Before she found out the truth." Emily asked, her voice teetering on the edge of hysteria. Ashley sighed quietly, wondering what the hell was wrong with Pam. What she had said to make her daughter this upset. There were more sounds of shuffling feet, followed by sob.

Ashley peeked her head around the corner of the room to find Aria and Spencer with their arms wrapped tightly around Emily, who now had tears rolling down her face. That was enough, Ashley decided. She couldn't just sit out there and listen to this heartbroken girl talk about her mother not accepting her for whatever reason, although Ashley had a pretty good idea of what it was over.

She quickly grabbed the food off the table, returned to the hall, counted to ten, and then re-entered the room, a fake smile on her face. This time Hanna saw her come in.

"Hey mom." Hanna said loudly, glancing at the other girls hugging at the foot of her bed. She lightly kicked Aria in the leg with her undamaged foot. Aria let go and shot a glare at Hanna.

"Did you have to kick me?" Aria snapped. Hanna held up her hands in defence.

"Well I had to get your attention somehow." Hanna told the short girl, who rolled her eyes with a smile as she and Spencer returned to their seats.

"Hello Mrs. Marin. How are you?" Spencer asked with a smile as Ashley handed Hanna her breakfast.

"I'm alright, thanks. Didn't get much sleep last night. I'll be able to sleep better when Hanna's home though." Ashley told Spencer with a small smile, taking a sip of her coffee. Spencer nodded, looking at Emily who was now in the process of trying to stop crying. Ashley frowned, sitting down on the end of Hanna's bed, in front of Emily.

"Emily, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" She asked the crying girl softly. Emily looked at her feet, shaking her head.

"I'm fine Mrs. Marin. Really." Emily whispered, wiping underneath her eyes. Ashley looked at Spencer and Aria, who had now made themselves busy with their phones that weren't even turned on.

"Emily. I know that's a lie. Look, I heard what you guys were talking about, well most of it. Why does your mother think those things about you?" she asked quietly. Emily still continued to look at her feet. Hanna sighed behind her.

"Mrs. Fields thinks that Emily's disgusting because she – " Emily cut Hanna off.

"Hanna! We don't need the whole world knowing about this. So just shut up, okay?" Emily snapped. Hanna sighed again.

"Em, maybe she can help. As I was saying, Emily's mother—" Hanna was cut off once again.

"Hanna! What part of shut up don't you understand? This is my secret to tell, not yours. If I wanted to let your mother know, I would tell her myself." She barked, now looking at the blonde girl on the bed with anger in her eyes. Spencer cleared her throat.

"I think what Hanna is trying to say is that, while –" Spencer attempted to say, but was cut off by Emily jumping up out of her seat.

"Spencer, shut up! You don't get to make the rules here, and neither does Hanna. If I want someone to know about Maya and I, then I will tell them. So just—" Emily clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing what she had just said. She looked between the shocked faces off Spencer, Hanna and Mrs. Marin, and then ran out of the room, leaving her purse sitting on the floor next to her chair.

The room was silent for a moment, until Aria spoke up.

"Well that was different." She said, breaking the silence. Spencer and Hanna slowly nodded. Ashley turned to face her daughter, who now had a rather guilty look on her face.

"What was that all about? What secret is that big that she can't tell me about it?" she asked. Hanna shook her head.

"You heard Emily. I over stepped there. She's right. It's not my secret to tell." Hanna said simply. Ashley sighed as Aria looked at the purse on the ground.

"I'll go bring her her bag. Maybe Mrs. Marin , you would like to join me?" she asked, picking up the purse. Ashley nodded, standing up. If it meant finding out what had Emily so upset, she would do anything. Spencer stood up to follow them, but Aria shook her head.

"I don't think so. She's mad at you and Hanna right now. I want to try and get her to tell the secret, not have her run away again. You are staying right here." Aria ordered. With a groan, Spencer sat down in the chair and crossed her arms.

When Aria and Ashley walked out of the room, they were surprised to find Emily sitting in one of the chairs just outside the room, not in tears, but simply starring off into space.

"Em? Do you mind if we sit with you? You don't have to talk if you don't want to. All you have to do is sit there." Aria asked quietly. Emily nodded sadly. Ashley took the seat next to Emily, Aria on the other side of Ashley. Ashley took hold of Emily's cold hand in her warm one.

They sat there in silence for a moment, until Ashley couldn't take it any longer.

"Emily, you don't have to tell me the secret if you don't want to, but please know that Aria, Hanna, Spencer and I all love you no matter what, okay?" she whispered quietly. Emily sighed loudly, and just sat there for a minute. Then she turned to look the red haired woman in the eyes.

"My mother thinks that I'm disgusting because, because I...I told her a secret that I've kept hidden for a long time. Mrs. Marin, I...I'm gay. My mother, she got pictures of me kissing another girl, Maya. And now she thinks that I have some kind of disease, and that I'm broken. She thinks that Maya's making me into this person, but she's not. I've always been this person. My mother doesn't believe me though. She says that I make her sick. And, I just, I just don't know what to do." Emily cried. Ashley sighed, shaking her head. She pulled the crying girl into a hug and held onto her tightly, letting her continue crying.

They stayed like that for a while, until Emily let go and wiped at her eyes. Ashley took hold of the girl's hands in her own.

"Emily, listen to me. Your mother doesn't know what she's talking about. You're not disgusting, you're you. Please don't listen to her, and don't feel bad about being who you were born to be. You like girls. That doesn't make any difference to me at all. Okay? I still love you, and please know that if you ever need to talk to an adult, I'm here, alright?" Ashley told the girl. Emily slowly nodded. Ashley pulled the girl into another hug and then stood up.

"Now let's go back in there and let Hanna and Spencer apologize for the way they treated you. They were just trying to help." Ashley said. Emily nodded with a small smile, wiping her eyes. Aria pulled Emily into a hug as she handed her the purse.

Ashley sighed as Emily and Aria walked back into the hospital room. Pam was about to get a talking to.

A/N: So thanks for reading. Don't forget to review! They make me write faster! Next up is Ella.


	3. Ella

A/N: So here's chapter 3. This is Ella's chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and favourites! They mean the world to me! As a side note, I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO PRETTY LITTLE LIARS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. All rights belong to their respectful owners. Just a writer using them for pure love of the books and show. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Ella Montgomery was confused, and that was an understatement. She was downright puzzled as to what was going on in her kitchen. She had just gotten home from school, which was, well, school. Honestly, Ella had no idea as to why she had decided to return to high school. A person must be insane to want to work with a bunch of hormonal, annoying as hell teenagers every day, and Ella was pretty sure she was getting close to that.

It had all started when Noel Kahn in third period decided to make a very dirty joke about a character in To Kill A Mocking Bird, which she didn't think was possible until he did. And really, her day was all downhill from there. She had coffee spilled on her dress in the cafeteria at lunch, a student throw a fit in her class in seventh period who ended up storming out, and to top it all off, the principal decided to hold a mandatory staff meeting after school that ran for an hour and a half. Talk about pure torture.

She had expected to come home to an empty house; Mike was spending the night with Byron, and Aria had said she was staying late to study with Spencer at the library. But what she got was completely different.

When Ella walked into the kitchen, she found Aria and Spencer sitting on the floor, books and papers spread everywhere. Why weren't they using, oh let's say, the kitchen table? That's what it was for. They both had their laptops open, phones in hand. Ella couldn't help but shake her head at the sight of the teenagers. Yet they didn't notice her, so she leaned against the kitchen counter and watched.

"No Spence, I'm telling you, don't tell Emily. She'll freak that you told your Mom." Aria urged, setting her phone down next to her computer. Spencer sighed.

"I can't believe I told her though. I'm just so stupid." She exclaimed, picking up a paper and crumpling it up into a ball. Aria rested her hand on the distressed girl's arm.

"Hey. Don't beat yourself up. I would have told my Mom too, if I was that upset. You were really upset, and to be honest, your mother is scary." She soothed. Spencer shook her head, throwing the paper across the room.

Ella couldn't take it any longer. She sighed, making Aria jump.

"Hey mom. I didn't think you'd be home yet. It's okay if Spencer stays over tonight, isn't it?" Aria asked her mom, starting to pile up her papers. Ella smiled and nodded, going over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine. God, did she need it.

"It's nice to see you Spencer. I haven't seen you in a while." She told her daughter's best friend, taking a sip of her wine. Spencer smiled.

"You too Mrs. Montgomery. How are you?" she asked politely. Aria rolled her eyes. Spencer was always so poised and proper, and it made everyone else look like they didn't care.

"I'm alright. Did you know that it's possible to make To Kill A Mocking Bird dirty?" Ella asked the girls. Spencer laughed as Aria nodded.

"Noel Kahn got to you too?" she groaned, rolling her eyes. The older woman nodded, taking a sip of her wine.

"Oh yeah he did. But anyways, how are you Spencer?" Ella asked the girl sitting on the floor next to daughter.

"I'm good, Mrs. Montgomery." Spencer said with a smile as she helped Aria pile up all of the books and papers, stuffing them into their respected bags.

"That's good. How are Emily and Hanna doing? I know Hanna got out of the hospital today." Ella asked the girls on the floor in front of her. They shot each other a nervous glance, which automatically made warning bells go off in Ella's head. Something wasn't right. And she was going to get to the bottom of it by the end of the night, even if it killed her.

"Hanna's doing well. Her mom called about half an hour ago, said Hanna's alright. She got home okay, and apparently she's asleep right now." Aria told her mother as Spencer began to fiddle with a loose thread on her bag. Ella nodded.

"That's good to hear. And what about Emily?" she asked. Spencer looked away, and Aria followed her gaze. Neither of the girls on the floor answered. The older woman sighed.

"Hello? Anybody home? How's Emily doing?" Ella asked again. Still no answer. Shaking her head, the teacher went and stood in front of the girls, offering a hand to her daughter.

"Alright, no one's going to answer me, so we're going to do this the hard way. Everybody up, and to the living room, so I can look at you properly." Ella ordered. With a sigh, Aria took her mother's hand and got up off the floor, followed by Spencer. The two teenagers walked into the living room behind the teacher, their heads hung low.

As the two girls took a seat on the loveseat across from the fireplace, Ella took another sip of her wine. She had a feeling she was going to need it tonight.

"Okay. What aren't you two telling me? What is wrong with Emily?"she asked the girls. Aria looked at Spencer, who nodded to her, as if giving permission.

"Okay. Well, physically she's fine. But, mentally…I…I'm not sure." Aria explained. Ella raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" the older woman asked her daughter. Aria starred at Spencer, who simply looked at her lap. No one spoke for a moment, until Spencer sighed.

"Emily, has...a...a secret. And she didn't want to tell her mother about it. But, she did, and now her mother...she's...she's a little upset." She explained as Aria snorted at the last comment.

"A little upset is nowhere close to where her mother is" she muttered, rolling her eyes. Ella was now very intrigued. What in hell was the secret that had Pam Fields in such a tussle?

"What...what's Emily's secret?" she asked quietly. The girls didn't answer her. Neither wanted to expose Emily to her teacher.

"Girls?" Ella asked again. They looked at each other, then down at their laps simultaneously. Slowly, Aria looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. Spencer met her eyes, shaking her head ever so slightly.

"Aria." Ella warned, now getting annoyed. She didn't need this tonight. Aria sighed deeply.

"I…I can't tell you." Aria muttered, looking at her friend. Spencer gave her a small smile. No way was Spencer going to let her friend make the same mistake as she did. Luckily Emily didn't know that she had told her mother, and hopefully she never would.

"What in hell is so big that you can't tell me about it Aria? If Emily is in trouble, I want to help her. I at least deserve to know what's going on with my daughter's best friend." Ella exclaimed, now more than annoyed. Ella Montgomery was now genuinely pissed off.

"I can't tell you Mom. It's not my secret to tell. I care too much about Emily to ruin our friendship over this secret. I'm sorry, but if she wants you to know, she will tell you." Aria explained in a desperate attempt to end the conversation. Ella sat there for a moment, looking between the two girls that sat on her couch, their heads hung low, like they were ashamed. A thought struck the annoyed teacher.

"Is Emily pregnant? Is that the secret that I'm not allowed to know?" she asked. Spencer snorted in laughter. "And what is so funny Spencer?" Ella asked the tall girl. Spencer looked at the teacher with a grin on her face.

"It's just the fact that your guess is about as far away from the truth as possible. Emily's not pregnant. She doesn't even have a boyfriend. She has…" she explained as Aria covered the girl's mouth with her small hand.

"That's enough Spencer." She warned, removing her hand from the other girl's mouth before Spencer could lick it like the last time Aria had done it. "But she is telling the truth Mom. Em's not pregnant. I don't even think Ben and her ever had sex." She exclaimed. Ella cringed at the last sentence. She did not want to think of her students, and more specifically her DAUGHTER'S friend having sex.

"Yeah, Emily would have told us." Spencer whispered to Aria, too quiet for Ella to hear.

"And you know, the fact that she's gay." Aria whispered back, casting a look at her mother to see if she had heard. Luckily she hadn't.

"Okay, well if Emily's not pregnant, then what has Pam Fields so upset?" Ella asked the girls. As Aria was about to try and talk her way out of the current situation, a phone rang in the next room. Spencer shot up from her seat.

"That's mine." She exclaimed, running in to the kitchen. She dug through her bag until she found the black phone, walking quickly back into the living room. Aria looked away from the stare down her mother was giving her.

"Who is it?" Aria asked, afraid that it might be A.

"It's Emily." Spencer whispered as the phone stopped ringing. A few quiet seconds passed, and then it rang again.

"Well answer the poor girl!" Aria exclaimed. Spencer pushed the talk button and held it up to her ear.

"Hey Em. What's up?" Spencer asked. Emily's voice could be heard on the other end of the line, although Aria and her mother couldn't quite tell what the girl was saying.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that Em." Spencer mumbled to the girl. Emily's voice carried through the living room. She sounded on the verge of hysterics.

"Well, it's like we said in the hospital. Give her some time. I'm sure she'll come around soon." Spencer told Emily. Emily's voice was once again heard throughout the living room. Aria simply starred at Spencer, not wanting to look at her mother. She was getting really close to cracking and just telling her the truth.

"Really? She said that? I'm so sorry Em. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but it will get better. Your mother will realize what an ass she's being and accept you for you. My mom did." Spencer said, not realizing what she said until after. She clapped a hand over her mouth as Emily's voice was clearly heard.

"You told your mother?" Emily snapped. Spencer sighed as Aria's eyes grew large. Well there goes the cat.

"Yes…yes I did Em. I'm sorry, it's just that I was really upset about how your mother treated you…and she saw the books…and I just…" Spencer tried to explain. Emily's voice was quieter now, but Ella and Aria could still tell she was mad.

"Yes, I know that it's not my secret to tell…I'm sorry…but knows now, so it really isn't that big of a deal." Spencer tried to reason. Aria smacked her hand to her forehead. Not a big deal Spencer? Really? Of all words.

More yelling was heard from the end of the phone. Sighing, Aria stood up and walked over to the tall girl. She outstretched her hand. Spencer looked at it and shook her head.

"Spencer, give me the phone before you dig yourself into an even deeper hole." Aria warned, keeping her hand open. Sighing, Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Okay…okay…Em, Aria wants to talk to you. Yep, here she is." Spencer told Emily, passing the phone to Aria and siting down on the couch. Ella looked at the girl and mouthed the words 'What was that about?' Spencer held up a finger, telling her to wait.

"You'll find out in a minute. Aria's going to cave when she gets off the phone, I guarantee it." She whispered. Ella nodded, leaning back into the couch and watching her daughter pace back and forth as Emily ranted on the other end of the phone.

"She still thinks I'm disgusting Aria! I…I can't take much more of this. She's around 24/7. It's like she thinks I'm going to sneak out and hook up with Maya or someone." Emily exclaimed to her friend. Aria nodded sadly on the other end, confusing her mother.

"Em…I don't know what to say right now. You think your mom would let you spend the night here? Spence is staying over, and my mom will be here all night." Aria asked. Emily sighed on the other end as Ella raised an eyebrow. She never agreed to that.

"I'll go ask…one minute." Emily told Aria, setting the phone down on the bed. Aria removed Spencer's phone from her ear, covering the receiver with her hand.

"Mom…is it okay if Emily spends the night too? Her mother's driving her crazy." Aria asked. Ella nodded.

"Of course she can. But you better…" Ella was cut off by Aria holding up her hand. Emily was back.

"She says no…she doesn't believe that I'm going to your house. I told you she thinks I'm hooking up with girls behind her back." Emily exclaimed, teetering on the edge of hysterics.

"Hey, Em. Listen to me. Calm down, alright? It will be alright. Maybe not now, but I promise you, it will be eventually. Your mother is going to realize what an ass she's being." Aria soothed. Ella raised an eyebrow at Spencer, who held up a finger, telling her to wait.

"And how about we get my mother to talk to your mom? Tell her that you are actually going to be here?" Aria added. Emily smiled a bit on the other end. Telling Aria that she would be back with her mother, Emily set the phone down on the bed.

"Can you please tell that you will be here all night, and that Emily will not be leaving this house?" Aria begged her mom, stretching Spencer's phone towards her mother. Ella nodded, taking the phone from her daughter.

"Hi Pam" Ella said in a fake cheery voice as Aria sat down on the couch next to Spencer. The girls could hear Pam's raised voice through the phone.

"Yes, I promise that I'm going to be here all night. So will Aria and Spencer. No one's going anywhere." Ella reassured Pam.

"Should we just tell her?" Spencer whispered to Aria as Ella continued to try and convince Pam to let Emily sleep over at her house.

"Why on earth would we tell her? Not only is she my mother, but she's Emily's teacher too Spence. If Emily ever finds out about it she would never speak to us again." Aria whispered back. Spencer sighed as Ella rolled her eyes at Pam.

"Well, your mother is not going to let up until we tell her what's going on with Emily. What if we make her promise not to tell Emily that she knows? At least until Em tells her herself?" Spencer whispered in a desperate attempt to convince her friend. Aria sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But let me do the talking please." She told her friend as Ella hung up the phone. Spencer wrapped her arms around the shorter girl and kissed her on the cheek.

"Spencer. Get off me!" Aria exclaimed, pushing her friend off of her with a great deal of difficulty. Once Aria was free from the tangle of limbs, Spencer took her phone back from Ella as Aria stood up.

"Okay. Aria. Spencer. You two need to tell me why I just spent five minutes convincing my daughter's best friend's mother that no one would be leaving this house tonight. So either you tell me what's going on with Emily, or I'm not letting her in this house." Ella threatened. Aria cleared her throat, causing both Ella and Spencer to shift their gazes to the tiny girl.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to say a word to Emily about it until she talks to you. Okay?" Aria asked her mother. Ella nodded, now slightly nervous as to what the secret might be.

"Here goes." Spencer muttered under her breath.

"Emily's…Emily's gay. You know, she likes girls." Aria told her mother, looking at Spencer the whole time, who was now clutching her hands together very tightly.

"Really? So that's why Pam is freaking out?" Ella asked her daughter. Aria nodded sadly, sitting down next to Spencer. Ella sighed.

"Yeah. She didn't want to tell her mom…but she got these pictures in the mail of Emily kissing, Ma…another girl, and so she told her dad, who then told her mom." Aria explained sadly.

"What did they do?" Ella asked quietly, looking at the girls. Aria looked at Spencer, who gave her a nod of encouragement.

"Well, her mom totally was, and is, freaking out. Her dad has been trying to calm her down, but it's not exactly working. Pam...she…she's been acting like…" Aria drifted off, not wanting to finish the sentence. Spencer sighed. Guess it was her turn.

"Pam's been acting like Emily has a disease. Like she's sick. She thinks that Emily's disgusting, and that Ma…someone else is turning her into this." Spencer said, stopping herself before saying Maya's name. There were just some things teachers didn't need to know.

"Oh my god. Poor Emily. No wonder she wants to get away from her mother." Ella muttered, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, Em's been trying to get her to listen to her, but she just won't do it. Spence and I suggested giving her a book or something about the LGBT community, but Em says that her mother won't read it." Aria added. Ella let a single tear fall.

"You know, I thought you were exaggerating when you called Pam an ass. Now I feel that it's an understatement." Ella muttered. Aria gave her mother a small smile. She couldn't have agreed more.

"How can Pam say those things about Emily though? How can a mother not love her own child? She thinks Emily's sick, but she's not. Emily was born this way, and I don't get how her mother doesn't see it." Aria said. Ella shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea.

"And I've read about 10 books in the past week about all this, and I couldn't imagine not loving someone just because their gay. Now it's even harder to." Spencer added, looking at the teacher in front of them. No one spoke for a moment, until Ella cleared her throat, making the teenagers jump.

"I take it Veronica and Ashley already know?" Ella asked the girls. Spencer nodded.

"I told my mom about a week ago. Ashley found out three days ago." She told the teacher. Ella nodded in understanding.

"And what do they think about it?" she whispered. Aria looked at her mother sadly.

"From what we know, they're fine with it." She told her mother.

"Thank you for telling me girls. I promise I won't say a word to Emily" Aria's mother told the girls. The doorbell rang as Ella stood up to make a few phone calls. She promised she wouldn't talk to Emily about it. She never said anything about Ashley and Veronica.

A/N: That was so much longer than I expected! Next chapter will be Ella talking to Emily, followed by the mothers talking, and possibly some more Pam confrontations. Please review! They make me work faster, and they always cheer me up!


End file.
